. Tasks practitioners on good corporate governance, technology adoption
The Chairman, Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu, yesterday proposed a N50 million capital base for insurance broking firms operating in Nigeria.
Elumelu, made the recommendation at the 60th Anniversary Colloquium of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), themed, “60 Years of Insurance Broking: Redefining the Practice and Practitioners.”
He argued that given the current economic realities, N5 million was no longer enough, hence the imperative to raise capital base, saying: “We need to adequately capitalise the brokerage sector,” adding that “there is always room for improvement.”
Elumelu also the Founder, Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), said: “I recommend a minimum of N50 million as capital base; we need to adequately capitalise the brokerage sector.
“Insurance is very important to the economy, so also is the quality of governance, institutions, and practitioners of the sector. Insurance is recognised as a technical business that requires special expertise.
“This, therefore, makes it difficult for most people to make the right choice on insurance purchase and also requires professional assistance when claims occur.”
He added that members of NCRIB have over the years facilitated insurance businesses in hundreds of billions of naira, delighted millions of Nigerians with their professional insurance services and ensured that claims are duly settled.
Elumelu said: “As insurance is very important to the economy, so also is the quality of governance, institutions, and practitioners of the sector
“Insurance is recognised as a technical business that requires special expertise.
“This therefore makes it difficult for most people to make the right choice on insurance purchase. They also require professional assistance when claims occur.
“This is why the expertise of an insurance broker is crucial. The insurance broker is an intermediary between the insurance consumer and an insurance company.
Insurance is very important to the economy, so also is the quality of governance, institutions, and practitioners of the sector.
Corporate governance
Elumelu also charged the NCRIB leadership to enforce strict corporate governance among members and weed out non-registered and non-compliant members from its fold to maintain its integrity.
He emphasised that in redefining the practice and practitioners in the insurance broking profession, NCRIB should lead the war against unethical practices that had been the bane of the industry for years.
“These include premium rate cutting, delayed premium remittance, unremitted premium, overloading of premium, returned premium, fake documents, fraudulent claims, collusion to defraud, misspelling, unhealthy competition, misrepresentations, manipulation of policy conditions, self-enrichment methods disguised as marketing expenses, and many more,” he said.
According to him, while the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) continues to play its role as the industry regulator, NCRIB as a body must ensure that appropriate sanctions are imposed on any of its members guilty of unethical practices.
“NCRIB and other insurance industry bodies should collaborate more to deepen insurance penetration in Nigeria while the council also plays a key role in advocacy for pro-insurance laws and policies.”
He urged the stakeholders to generate more awareness and showcase the value of insurance to the public, by promoting participation, especially in the retail space.
According to him, insurance brokers need to participate fully in the awareness drive to benefit from the initiative like other players in the industry.
Technology adoption
Elumelu further called for more innovation among brokers through the adoption of technology to boost insurance penetration, saying: “The body also needs to work towards positioning its members properly for digital integration, mediating between the insuring public and the underwriters digitally.
“The brokers’ industry cannot advance when the other financial services are transitioning to online real time, and we are still stuck with a system that relies on hard copy files and documents.
“The brokerage sector needs to drive clean data for the industry and this is not a one person job.”
In his welcome address, NCRIB’s President, Rotimi Edu, said brokers who constituted the professional arm of the insurance industry had a great role to play in causing the desired change in the industry.
“Aside from constituting a preponderant chunk of the industry’s manpower professionally, insurance brokers are the closest to the insuring public whose activities could not be undermined in the value chain.
“This position of the broker confers on him the responsibility to always get the best for his client and be continually creative in terms of product development,” Edu said.
He assured that the Council will continue to braze up to the challenges being faced by its members for the collective good of the industry.
